Golden Road
by MeredithGlass
Summary: A year ago, Sam Forster, 17, fled to San Francisco after a horrible accident caused her world to come crashing down. Now, she's back, but will things ever be able to go back to normal? Eventual Sake, rated T just in case.
1. One Chord Song

"Are you sure you are ready to go back?" Aunt Sue asked worriedly. Sam rolled her eyes. She really wished Aunt Sue would stop fussing over her.

"Yes. It's been a year. I can't even imagine what the ranch looks like. No doubt Dallas, Ross, and Pepper have kept it running, but there was no way that nothing has changed." Especially since this time when she returned to the ranch from San Francisco, her Dad and Gram would not be there to welcome her back.

"Oh, stupid baggage claim! You know, I've always had this problem. By the time I finally find my bags they're already going around the other side!" Aunt Sue complained as she attempted to lunge after her baggage, just barely missing the handle. "I can't imagine what it has been like for Brynna to live in that house all alone. Must've been just terrible." Sam simply nodded. It has been a year since Sam lost her father and grandmother in a car accident. At first, Sam had been afraid of returning to the ranch after it happened, even when she was still in Nevada. The Ely family took pity on her and let her sleep in at their house. She was afraid of going home to Brynna, to the sadness. In the end, instead of returning home she decided to move back in with her Aunt Sue in San Francisco, California. Soon after arriving, Sam had already been fretting over Ace's well-being. She had asked Brynna about him the few times they had spoken since she left, but those calls were far from frequent. Sam and Brynna, once extremely close, had grown apart. They could no longer carry on a conversation about anything—not even horses—without a large amount of awkward lulls in the conversation.

Of course, a year in San Francisco had changed more than just Sam's relationship with Brynna. It had changed Sam. When Sam was in San Francisco, she didn't ride a horse once. Sure, at first it had been because she missed Ace too much, but as time went on she just didn't want to even think about horses. It was something that had been a part of her life in Nevada. It was too painful.

"Well here we are," Aunt Sue said as River Bend Ranch came into view. Sam looked up from the book she had been reading. Well, maybe reading isn't the word. The book was open, but Sam couldn't recall reading a single word. Hell, she couldn't even remember walking to the rental car and driving over here! To her surprise, it looked exactly as it had when she left a year ago. As the car pulled across the bridge and into the ranch, she saw it didn't look the same; it looked deserted. No one, save for the horses, could be seen.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" her aunt asked cautiously as she pulled the vehicle to a stop. Sam sighed.

"I guess we are about to find out, aren't we?" Sam replied cryptically.

She got out of the car and grabbed her bag from the trunk. As she made her way towards the familiar white house, she was flooded with so many different emotions. Of course Sam was happy to be back, it was her home for crying out loud! She grew up here! But she also once again felt the sinking, sad realization that her dad would not be there waiting for her when she walked into the house.

Truth be told, she was scared to see what had changed here over the last year. Grief and San Francisco had changed her. Sure, she looked the same on the outside; she still had her long, auburn hair and startlingly green eyes she had inherited from her mother. It was the Sam on the inside that had done the changing. In San Francisco, people had always told her she was wise for her age. She would always smile and tell them "sometimes life does that to a person." It was easy. It was simple. In San Francisco, no one ever asked questions because they simply didn't care. Well, most people, anyway.

Sam walked into the house and still saw no one. The house looked the same, although there was something about it that just seemed downright empty. It no longer smelled of her Gram's cooking. It was just empty. She walked up the stairs and down the hall to her old, familiar room, leaving her aunt standing in the living room. She opened the door and found that everything was where she had left it. Her collection of glass horses still stood on top of her dresser, frozen in place and dusty. Actually, everything was dusty.

"I bet Brynna hasn't been in here since I left," Sam said absentmindedly.

"Would she have any reason to?" Aunt Sue asked. Sam turned around to see her aunt standing in the doorway watching her. How long had she been there? Sam had not heard her walk up the stairs.

"No," Sam replied after moment.

"I found this in the kitchen." Aunt Sue told her, holding out a small piece of paper. Sam took it and read:

_Sam-_

_I will be at the Ely's until 5. You can come over if you would like, or there is food in the refrigerator for you._

_See you soon,_

_Brynna_

"She is at Jake's house," Sam said, looking up.

"Well, what do you want to do? I'm sure the Ely's are excited to see you. Or we could go to that adorable little diner you used to love. If you really want, we could even stay in, I suppose." Aunt Sue rattled off options.

"Would you mind?" asked Sam. "We just got here." Aunt Sue nodded.

"The Ely's and the town will be here tomorrow." she said. Sam had a feeling Aunt Sue knew the real reason of why Sam was so reluctant to go. Truth was, she was afraid to face everyone. There were probably some people who criticized Sam for running off to San Francisco and leaving her grief stricken step-mother.

Half an hour later, Sam and Aunt Sue were sitting on the couch eating a frozen pizza and watching re-runs of _One Life To Live_, a soap opera they had both gotten addicted to recently. Brynna walked in two episodes later. She smiled at Sam and Aunt Sue, but the smile did not reach her eyes. It was easy to see that grief was still traveling with Brynna everywhere she went, and it was not being kind. She had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was really pale.

"Hello Sam. Hello Sue." she said.

"Hello Brynna." Aunt Sue got up and walked over to Brynna. "How are you doing?" she asked quietly. Brynna's reply was so quiet that Sam could not hear it.

"Hi Brynna." Sam said, standing up.

"Sam, how have you been?" Brynna asked.

"I've been alright." Sam replied.

"Sammy!" Cody, Sam's younger half brother, cheered running to give her a hug. Sam laughed and hugged him back.

"Hey Cody," she replied lovingly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you arrived. I was helping Mrs. Ely grade final exams. Brynna apologized.

"It's okay, really."

"Well, the Ely's are coming over tomorrow for dinner."

"Oh, okay." As if sensing the awkwardness in the air, Aunt Sue stepped in.

"Have you ever seen this soap opera, Brynna?" Aunt Sue asked.

"I'm not much into television…" Brynna replied.

"Well, it's great at taking your mind off of life. Samantha and I just got into it; we hunted down all of the earlier episodes."

"Hey," Sam interrupted. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and lie down for awhile. The flight kind of wore me out." Brynna and Aunt Sue nodded.

"Sam?" Sam looked up to see Brynna. "The Ely's called. They're coming over in a couple of hours, too." Sam nodded. "Just thought you should know. They couldn't wait to see you." Brynna quickly shut the door.

Sam listened to her walking away. _Great_, Sam thought. She really was not in the mood to see people, as emo as that may sound. Actually, that is a lie. It was not that she was simply was not in the mood to see people; it was more like she was afraid to. Last time she had returned from San Francisco, everyone saw her as the poor girl who got bashed in the head by a horse hoof. Now, she was probably known as the grief ridden teenager who ran off to San Francisco _again_ leaving her grieving step-mother to wallow in self-pity, even though it was probably due to brain damage she received when she got bashed in the head by a horse hoof that makes her unable to be a decent human being. San Fran had taught Sam not to care about what other people thought, however, Darton was a whole different town. In fact, Darton is so small that everyone probably knew of her homecoming two weeks ahead.

Sam sighed. If she had to go through this nightmare, she might as well make herself look presentable. She decided to go take a shower. By the time Sam took a shower and put on fresh clothes, she had ten minutes until the Ely's arrived and they were always on time. She sat down on her bed and looked around for something to occupy herself with. Her eyes landed on the old guitar sitting in a corner. It was one of the few things that weren't covered in dust. _Desiree's guitar_, Sam thought. She picked it up and began strumming the familiar song she had heard come from the guitar many times before, singing the words in her head.

_She said, here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down  
Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down  
Lord, forgive me for what I do  
But if you want out well it's up to you  
Now don't let me down  
You Mama's gonna help you uptown_

A few minutes later, exactly at 7:00, Sam heard the sound of a pick-up truck crossing over a bridge followed by two car doors opening and shutting and the sound of ten pairs of feet jumping onto the ground. Sam stood up and walked out of her room.

She sat on the last step 20 minutes before someone finally noticed she was there.

"Hey Sammy girl!" she heard someone shout. It had to be Darrell because he was the only one who called her that. Right on cue, Darrell came rushing at her. He picked her up and spun her around. Sam could not help but laugh.

"Sam!" she heard someone else yell. Sam could not see who, however, because Darrell was still whirling her around. When Darrell finally put her down, she was immediately surrounded by what felt like tons of people. She could not see their identities yet because her vision was obstructed by her dizziness. She could hear laughing. Once the world became still, she could easily make out six Ely boys and…

"Jen?" Sam asked.

"I missed you so much!" Jen squealed. She looked so different. Her long, blonde hair was now cut to her shoulders and her glasses were gone.

"Did you get contacts?" Sam asked in disbelief. Jen nodded excitedly. "Oh my gosh!" Sam exclaimed

"Hey Sammy!" Quinn, the second-to-last Ely boy, greeted her. "Long time no chat. You have definitely grown up in the past year." he commented, looking her up and down. Sam felt her face heat up.

"Oh, Quinn, you leave the poor girl be!" Mrs. Ely scolded him. Everyone laughed at Sam's obvious discomfort. Sam edged away from Quinn, or at least she tried to. Instead, she collided with someone. When she turned around to apologize, she found herself face-to-face, or rather face-to-shoulder, with none other than Jake Ely.

"Hello Jake," she greeted the youngest Ely.

"How ya been, Brat?" he asked. There was that horrible nickname. He had been addressing her as 'Brat' for as long as she could remember. Sam glared at him.

"I don't know if you missed the memo 17 years ago, Jake, but my name is Samantha. Not Brat."

"Okay, _Samantha_." Jake mocked her. Sam glared at him again and turned her back on him. She began talking to Jen, and she heard Darrell and Jake's brothers 'oh'-ing him **[A/N You know when a guy gets burned all of his friends are like "oooooh!" You get the point, right?]**. The adults migrated to the front porch and the younger people sat around the living room catching up.

"So, Sam, why did you finally decide come back?" Jen asked, cutting to the chase. Jen never danced around things. She loved going straight to the point. Everyone quieted and waited for her to answer.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. Sam had suddenly gotten _very _interested in her plate of lasagna that someone had handed her along the way.

"When you left, we all thought you were leaving for good," Nate said.

"What is this, an ambush?" Sam asked angrily. Everyone looked at her, startled by her outburst. Sam gave a frustrated sigh and rubbed her temple.

"You know, someone in San Francisco told me that life is like a one chord song. You can change the octave, you can strum a different melody, but it is always going to be the same chord and eventually you are going to be bored with it," Sam finally answered. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Sheesh Sammy girl when did you get so vague?" Darrell asked, breaking the silence. Everyone laughed nervously.

"So you came back because you felt like it? You just…came back because you were bored?" Jen asked.

"Of course," Sam replied quickly. Everyone looked at her. "I am going to go get something to drink." Sam said, rushing up from her seat on the couch and in to the kitchen.

"Is it just me, or did anyone else pick up on some strange vibes here?" Bryan asked.

"She is hiding something." Jake said, still looking at the door Sam had retreated through. Jen and his brothers looked at him.

"What do you mean, little bro?" Quinn asked.

"Something made her leave; otherwise she wouldn't have gotten so defensive. It must've been bad, too," he said.

"What makes you think that?" Nate asked.

"You know how stubborn she is. Nothing little would have driven her to up and leave her aunt. It had to have been big, and it had to have hurt her bad. You saw how she was when her dad and grandmother died. It torn her up. Even then, she wasn't sure she wanted to leave. Something drove her out of California." Everyone was silent.

"Or maybe she just wanted to come home! Because, you know, she is a person and can think for herself." Everyone turned to see Sam standing in the doorway looking rather angry.

"Sam-" Jen exclaimed. She stopped herself when she looked at Sam. She saw something she hadn't noticed before. Sam looked different somehow, there was something about her that Jen could not put her finger on...and then she saw it. Actually, they all saw it. They all saw how tired Sam looked. She had bags under her eyes, which already looked dead of emotion. She was extremely pale, and she had lost some weight; too much weight. She looked almost too skinny. Why had none of them noticed this before?

"Sam?" Jake looked at her. Sam looked down and rushed towards the stairs.

"Sam!" Jen yelled. Sam kept running. Jen, Jake, and Darrell ran after her. The adults walked in the room, having heard the commotion.

"What's going on? Where is Sam? Is she alright?" asked Brynna nervously, her eyes darting around.

"Well, she's upstairs," Nate answered slowly.

"Is she alright?" Maxine Ely, Jake's mom, asked.

"Isn't that the million dollar question?" Adam asked dryly.

**[A/N] Hey! If you have read this before and couldn't tell, I'm revising this. I had it on a hiatus and have just recently regained interest in it. What I have planned for this story is 5 sequels to this [four full on stories and one one-shot] and a prequel. And I PROMISE on my Harry Potter book collection that I will get it down. I told myself I'm not allowed to work on any other full stories until this is done.**

**So, let me know what you think! Your input is always welcome. I'm not going to tell you not to review flames, but please keep it constructive. **

**Thanks so much : ) **

**xxMeredith Glass**

_Yeah, now here's the same thing  
That you heard 8 bars before  
And if your just like me  
I'm sure that you are bored with this chord. _

_But if I can make you stop and think  
About the life your living in  
'Cause you and I, we don't have long  
So make the most before it's gone._

_One Chord Song-Keith Urban_


	2. Somebody Like You

Sam ran into her room and grabbed the keys that had been sitting on her nightstand. In San Francisco, Aunt Sue had given Sam a car. They had had it delivered ahead of them just in case Sam decided she wanted to use it. She had never really used it in California, but it would definitely come in handy if there were anymore incidents like this one. At first, Sam had been reluctant about bringing it with her to Nevada, but now she was glad her aunt had insisted that she did.

Sam raced back down stairs, pushing pass Jen, who had somehow appeared in her doorway with a confused look on her face, and ran down the stairs. She ignored the shouts of protest behind her and climbed into her car. As she pulled across the bridge, she saw Jen and Jake standing where her car had been a few seconds ago. The rest of the Ely boys, their parents, Darrell, Brynna, and Aunt Sue were standing out on the porch watching her leave. Her cell phone started ringing. The screen lit up with Brynna's name. Sam picked it up and tossed on the backseat. She turned the radio up. And tried her best to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall down her face.

"She isn't picking up!" Brynna exclaimed frantically. After that little episode, everyone was rushing around trying to decide what to do.

"We should go after her!" Jen suggested, yelling over everyone else.

"Adam! Go grab the keys, we can go after her!"

"Who in the hell thought it would be a good idea to give her a car?"

"Leave her be. She'll come back." Everyone turned to look at Aunt Sue, whom was sitting calmly on the porch swing.

"We have to go get her!" Brynna argued.

"She'll come back."

"How do you know she won't do anything stupid?" Jen asked, her eyes wide.

"Look, you guys, back in San Francisco Sam and her…friends…ran around all of the time. Sometimes, I didn't even know where she was. It drove me crazy! But Sam's a big girl and she's responsible. She always came back. She just needs to clear her head. She has been through a lot. Give her a break. If you try to go after her, she will just keep driving away," Aunt Sue explained.

"That doesn't sound like our Sam at all," Jen said.

"Yes, well, did the Sam you saw earlier seem like the Sam you used to know?" Aunt Sue asked. "Did the old Sam blow up over nothing?" Everyone took that in.

"What happened to her in California?" Maxine asked curiously. Sue hesitated.

"Just…You'll know when she wants you to. If she wants you to," she replied.

"Okay, are all of the people in San Francisco this vague? Because it is really starting to piss me off," Jen declared, obviously frustrated.

Meanwhile, Sam pulled in front of the black, iron rod gate and turned off her car. It had gotten dark out about an hour ago, which means the gate was locked about an hour ago since people were not allowed in the cemetery after dark. It was short enough that she could jump over if she really wanted to, but Sam did not think she had the nerve—or guts—to do that. Besides, it looked really scary at night. Sam had seen too many horror movies that started out like this to risk it. Instead, she just sat there and stared at the entrance. After awhile, she glanced at her watch. It read 11:32. She cursed under her breath and started the car.

When she finally pulled back into River Bend Ranch, the only light on was the one in the kitchen. It was probably Brynna. Aunt Sue knew better than to wait up for Sam. In San Francisco, Sam had basically gone where she pleased, when she pleased. She had always told her aunt when she was leaving and who she would be with, so it was never a problem. Her aunt trusted her to make the right decisions. Actually, her aunt trusted her period. Obviously, Brynna did not.

As Sam was walking towards the house, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. It was a truck. Not just a truck, but the Ely truck. A year ago, Sam would have been furious. After all, there was really only one Ely who it could be. This time, Sam was just curious. Sam walked into the kitchen to see Jake sitting at the table, looking half-asleep.

"What are you still doing here?" Sam asked. The moment Jake realized that Sam had returned, his eyes flashed with anger.

"Waiting for you!" he replied angrily.

"Why?" she asked. He was not getting off easy.

"Because you can't do this Sam! I'm not going to watch you screw up every time someone makes you mad!" he was yelling now. Sam had never heard him say so many words in one breath.

"I don't need you to watch over me," she replied through clenched teeth.

"I can't believe your aunt wouldn't let us after you. You aren't responsible enough to be out on your own!" Jake was yelling now. Jake never yells. Sam could not believe he had the nerve to question her responsibility levels. If he kept it up, he was really going to piss her off.

"I used to go all over the San Francisco area without and supervision and nothing ever happened so if you think you can just step in and—"

"I cannot believe what crazy nonsense was going through your aunt's mind when she let you do that," Jake interrupted her. "You're just a little kid!"

"I. Am. Not. A. Kid. Stop treating me like a baby just because you feel sorry for me! I don't want your pity! I'm not your charity case! I don't need you watching over me!" Sam screamed at him.

"Well somebody has to!" he yelled back.

"Not somebody like you," Sam seethed. Jake went silent.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked quietly.

"I don't need somebody like you watching over me," she repeated. "Honestly, all I can remember is you always trying to keep me in a little cage. It's like you're too afraid to let me live my life because of some stupid little accident five years ago! It's over, Jake! It's done! I'm grown up now. I've experienced so many things that you wouldn't even imagine and I didn't need you breathing down my neck for any of it! I don't need you anymore!"

Jake didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed his coat and started walking towards the door. Sam watched him walk out the door. As she heard Jake drive away, Sam threw her coat on the ground and ran upstairs. Sure, she felt bad for yelling at Jake like that but he had no right to question her capability of doing something without him looking over her shoulder every single moment. It was too much! She just barely handled it when she was younger, but Sam was not about to let Jake Ely control her life and tell her what she can do and when she could do it. Sam could probably make it on her own if she really wanted to. There was no reason she had to live here with Brynna or even in San Francisco with her Aunt Sue. Hey, she could probably just go somewhere and start a new life. Not that she would ever do that, but still, the thought made her feel more confident about her argument. Sam went to bed, feeling nothing. Jake, however was not so fortunate. He returned home to find his brothers, Adam and Nate, waiting up for him in their room.

"So I take it Sam came back," Nate said nonchalantly to Jake when he walked into the room. Nate, Quinn, Adam, and Bryon were sitting on the floor playing some sort of card game. Jake grunted in response.

"I think our little Jake here caught into a small shouting skirmish with Miss Forster. What about you guys?" Adam said.

"I think your assumption on that would be correct, my dear brother," Quinn agreed.

"I don't understand why that girl thinks she can just up and leave for hours and have nobody have a problem with that!" Jake grumbled angrily. He always could say more than three words at a time when he was with his brothers. They pretty much knew everything about him; Darrell too. Beyond that, there had only been a few select number of people who Jake would actually converse with.

"You heard what her aunt said, Jake. Sam has basically been coming and going as she pleased in San Francisco for the past year. It's a habit. You can't just expect her to immediately be the old Sam who did practically whatever you said to," Bryon lectured Jake.

"I know that. I just wish she didn't. I swear, that girl makes me crazy!" he exclaimed.

"But you still love her anyways," Nate said solemnly. Jake snapped his head up.

"What?" he asked quickly, his face tinting red.

"Oh, come on now Jake. It's not that hard to see," Adam said, rolling his eyes at Jake's shock. "It's written all over your face. It's in your words, little brother!"

"Yeah, little bro! And I don't blame you!" Quinn exclaimed. "I mean, right now she _does _look sort of like she is sick, but Sam has always been one attractive lady."

"I am not in love with Sam," Jake replied, laughing at his brothers.

"Yes you do bro. Even if you don't know it yet, you do," Adam told him. Jake glared at his brothers before rolling in to bed. He wouldn't bother denying it again. They wouldn't listen anyways.

**-Let's go to the next day!-**

"Sam? Wake up."

Sam opened her eyes groggily to see Aunt Sue shaking Sam lightly.

"What's up?" she asked, half-awake.

"I'm leaving now, just wanted to say good-bye to my favorite niece," Aunt Sue replied, smiling.

"Oh shoot! I'm supposed to drive you to the airport, aren't I? Just give me a moment, I'll be ready in a minute," Sam said, sitting up.

"No, no, no; you get some sleep. Brynna is driving me," Aunt Sue assured her.

"Brynna? Why is Brynna driving you?" Sam asked.

"Well, she offered and I accepted. So you just go on back to sleep and I'll talk to you as soon as I land."

"But I wanted to say bye to you!" Sam protested.

"Then say bye now, dear! It isn't that big of a deal."

"Yes it is! You're _my _aunt! I'm related to you, and I should be the one driving you. Not _Brynna_!"

"Samantha Ann Forster!" Aunt Sue scolded her. Sam went silent. "Now I know that you don't particularly want to be here but you are so stop acting like a child. You have been living with me for the past year! You would think you would be glad to be getting away from me for awhile!" Aunt Sue leaned down and gave Sam a hug. "I will call you when I land. See you later. I love you!" Aunt Sue gave her one last smile as she left the room.

"Bye," Sam called after her. "I'll miss you." She stared at the door until she drifted back off to sleep.

**xx Mere**

_There's a new wind blowin' like I've never known._  
_I'm breathin' deeper than I've ever done._  
_And it sure feels good, to finally feel the way I do._  
_I wanna love somebody,_  
_Love somebody like you._

_An' I'm lettin' go of all my lonely yesterdays._  
_I've forgiven myself for the mistakes I've made._  
_Now there's just one thing, the only thing I wanna do, mmm, mmm._  
_I wanna love somebody,_  
_Love somebody like you._

_Somebody Like You by Keith Urban_


	3. Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me?

"Oh my dear Lord! If it isn't little Miss Samantha Anne Forster! Well, I haven't seen you around here in _ages_!" Clara exclaimed as she gave Sam a huge bear hug.

"It's nice to see you too…" Sam mumbled.

"Although, you aren't so little anymore! My dear Lord, you are a women now, aren't you? Why, you look exactly like your mama did when she was your age!" the old women boomed. Sam could just feel her face turning red and Jen snickered from behind her hand. Sam glared at her over Clara's shoulder. Finally, Clara released Sam from her iron grip. "San Francisco did you good! We're all glad to have you back home though! It just wasn't the same without our little Sam!"

"Order up!" Someone yelled from the counter.

"Oh!" Clara exclaimed. "Gotta get that! Why don't you all run along to a table and I'll be over in a jiffy!" After Clara walked away, everyone but Sam started laughing.

"That wasn't funny!" Sam protested.

"Haha, oh Sam, you have no idea how funny that really was!" Jen laughed.

"Yeah, it's like you're the queen or something. 'OH, Samantha _Anne_! How you've grown! Oh, you look so _pretty_!'" Darrell mimicked.

"Shut up!" Sam whacked Darrell on the arm.

"Aw, come on Sammy girl! Frankly, I am a li'l bit jealous. Clara never greeted me like that!" Darrell cackled.

"Oh yes, who wouldn't wanna be me?" Sam asked as she slid into end of the half-circle booth, her voice dripping with sarcasm. The group settled down for a moment as they all decided what they wanted. Clara came back over and took their orders. After she left, there was an awkward moment of silence until she brought the food over and everyone started eating. It was like everyone was happy to have Sam back, but at the same time none of them really knew what to saw to this new Sam.

"So, Sam, why don't you tell us about good ol' San Francisco? How was it?" Quinn asked through a mouthful of fries. Everyone turned their attention to Sam.

"Oh, you know, sand, smog, cars, highways…" Sam replied vaguely before taking a bite out of her burger.

"No, like what did you do? What were your friends like?" Jen prodded. Sam sighed.

"I went to school, mostly. I was a photographer on the paper, not the photo editor, but I might have well been. The other girl wasn't very good at it, so I basically did her job for her. I worked at a McDonald's and don't care if I never eat there again. Other than that I was usually with Aunt Sue or at the library," Sam said. She sounded as if she was already bored with talking about San Francisco.

"What were your friends like?" Jen asked again. Sam hesitated before answering.

"My friends were pretty boring," Sam replied shortly.

"Were they on the paper?" Jen asked.

"No."

"Did they go to your school?" Darrell asked.

"Nope."

"Live on your street?"

"We lived in an apartment building."

"Live in your apartment building?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Meet the at a stable?"

"No."

"Sam, how the heck did you meet these people?" Nate asked.

"One was a…had a night job and I met her on my way home from the library and the other worked in a park. That's where I met them."

"Oh, so they were adults," Brian said.

"They were…they _are_ my age." Sam replied. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"Jeez, Sam, you're making it sound like they were homeless," Adam said lightly. Sam didn't reply.

"Oh my gosh!" Jen exclaimed. "They _were_, weren't they?"

"No! No. They had a home," Sam said staring into her milkshake. "They had a home. And what's with the twenty questions anyway?"

"Did you see the Golden Gate Bridge?" Jake asked as Jen was about to say something else. Jen looked angry because she was finally getting somewhere with Sam and Jake had ruined it in all of two seconds. Sam, on the other hand, looked grateful for the subject change.

"Yeah. It was pretty cool, but after the first few weeks I didn't really notice it as much," she replied. "I mean, it isn't like it's the first time I've ever been to San Francisco." Jake nodded.

"Do you want to know what I want to know?" Darrell asked. Sam groaned.

"I don't know, do I?" she asked.

"Yes, you do!" Darrell replied. Sam groaned again.

"I'm afraid to find out…" Sam muttered under her breath.

"What I want to know is if our little Sammy girl here had a special boy over in California." Sam burst out laughing. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"As if!" she replied, still laughing. Nobody could hardly here her, however, because she was laughing too hard.

"What?" Jen asked. Sam laughed harder.

"Sam, people are staring! What is so funny?" Adam asked. Sam covered her face in her hands and finally stopped laughing.

"Okay, so, what?" she asked, still with a bit of laughter in her voice.

"What was so funny?" Adam asked again.

"He asked if I had a boyfriend in California," she replied simply. Everyone looked at her bewildered.

"And that's funny…how?"

"If you ever met the people I knew, you would be laughing too," she replied again, eating a fry. "No, I don't do boyfriends. No the kind that I meant in San Fran, anyway."

"So you do strangers? That isn't safe Sam!" Darrell exclaimed. Sam looked at him questioningly. "You could get some weird STD." Everyone's mouth dropped, and for once, Jen was speechless. Then Sam burst out laughing again. Everyone, including Darrell, looked at her in shock. The Sam they knew would never laugh at that! That had half expected her to come out and slap him! Sam stopped laughing.

"What? Why are you guys staring at me like I'm a two-headed elephant?" she asked.

"We're not," Jen said. Sam had an unreadable expression on her face, but it was only right that she would be a little suspicious. Sam turned back to her food. The tension had gone from three to ten in a matter of seconds.

It took five minutes for someone to realize that Sam had been staring at her food for awhile now. Little did they know, she was having a flashback of a memory she would rather forget.

"_What are you guys doing?" Sam yelled. Billy looked up._

"_Sam, I know you don't understand, but this is something we have to do," he said._

"_You _have_ to steal from someone? Someone who helped you?" she yelled back._

"_Sammy, come on now, what else are we supposed to do?" Desiree asked her soothingly. _

"_Let me help you! This isn't right. Something bad is going to happen! I can feel it," Sam said, no longer yelling. Billy looked up at Sam and then back at what he was doing. Now, he looked doubtful._

"_Nothing is going to happen, Sammy! We've done this a ton of times before! Stop being a baby and calm down," Desiree told her. Desiree started walking towards the window. Sam saw a shadow move as Desiree walked by the ally. Billy gasped a moment later. Sam lunged forward but Billy held her back. A scream erupted the night._

"Sammy?" Sam glanced up. She felt the tears forming in her eyes. "Are you okay, Sam?" Jen asked her. Sam stood up quickly and grabbed her bag.

"I…I got to go. I'll see you later," Sam mumbled before running towards the door. She could hear people shouting her name behind her but she kept running. She wasn't going to let them see her cry. In fact, if she could help it, she wasn't going to cry at all.

"What was that all about?" Bryon asked. Everyone looked confused.

"Jake, you shouldn't have changed the dang subject," Jen said regretfully.

"Me? You shouldn't have been pushing her to answer. I told you when she is ready to tell us what happened in California, she will. No use in pushing it if she doesn't want to budge. Then, you'll never know!" Jake scolded her.

"Wow, Jake, I've never heard you say so many words in one day! Let alone one saying!" Bryon exclaimed. Jake's face burned red. He got up and went after Sam. It didn't take long to catch up with her. He put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice shaky. She refused to meet his eye.

"Uhh…Are you…? I mean, um, are you…okay, Brat?" he asked, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Sam glanced at him and laughed.

"It's Samantha," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned towards Jake. "I'm sorry; about what I said last night, I mean."

"Its fine, Sam-"

"No, let me finish. Please," she begged, looking him in the eye. "I do need you Jake. I've always needed you…you've always tried to help me and that was a horrible thing for me to say. So I'm sorry."

"You're growing up, Brat. You don't need to apologize for it," Jake grunted. To many, it would seem as if he was dismissing her apology, but Sam knew that it was just his way of saying sorry too. She gave him a weak smile.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Jake grunted in response. "Can you take me home?" she asked.

"Sure, Brat. I'll go get the keys." As Jake ran off back to the restaurant, Sam sat down on the curb and waiting for him to come back.

Back inside the restaurant, the group was discussing what had happened when Jake walked back in.

"Where's Sam?" Adam asked.

"She's outside. Darrell, can I borrow your keys? I'm going to take Sam home."

"What?" Jen exclaimed. "She can't go yet!" Darrell reached into his pocket and handed Jake the keys. "Darrell, don't do that!"

"Sorry, Jen. I know you want to be a friend to Sam, but I think right now you need to let Sam walk away for a bit."

"And why do I need to do that?"

"Because everything is not okay, okay? I know you want things to go back to normal but they can't and pushing Sam is only going to scare her off." Jen huffed and sat back down in her seat. "Just, be careful, okay? My mom will kill me if something happens to that van."

"Darrell, I somehow think that that van is much safer with Jake behind the wheel than with you…" Nate said. Darrell gave an indifferent shrug.

"All the same," he replied.

**[A/N] Okay, I know this is kind of a sucky chapter. I actually combined this with The next chapter, Whenever I Run. I'm going to take a break, and then write some more today. HOPEFULLY the story should be fully revised and updated and I will start posting new chapters. **

_I got no money in my pockets  
I got a hole in my jeans  
We're on the wheels of an angel  
And I'm free  
She's strummin' on my six-string  
It's across her pretty knees  
She's stompin' out a rhythm  
And she's singin' to me_

_Who wouldn't wanna be me?_

_Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me by Keith Urban_


	4. Whenever I Run

"So…how'd you like being back at Riverbend?" Jake asked awkwardly. Sam glanced at him and smiled a little. Jake was many things, but a conversationalist was not one of them. The sheer fact that he was even attempting to make conversation with her told Sam that he really did feel bad for her; even when they hadn't fought Jake was never much of a talker.

"It's…different. I don't know. The house seems to empty. Especially now that Aunt Sue is gone." Jake grunted in response. "How have things been here?" Sam asked. Jake glanced at her, but Sam rambled on, not noticing. "I mean, I haven't really talked to anyone besides Brynna or Cody since I left. Sure, Jen and I e-mailed for a bit but I really haven't talked to you since…well since I left…" Sam was staring out the window, her voice trailing off. Of course, all she was doing was proving to Jake that she still was like a little girl. Here she was rambling, and though she couldn't remember what she said she was sure she asked a million questions and didn't give him space to answer any of them.

"It's been fine. The ranch is doing good. Adam, Nate, and I have been helping out Dallas and the rest. Though it hasn't been the same without your Dad." Sam nodded in agreement. An awkward silence fell over them as Jake pulled into Riverbend.

"Well, Jake, this is where we say goodbye. See you tomorrow?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Sure, Brat; see you tomorrow," Jakes replied. Sam jumped out of the van and walked inside. To her surprise, she found Brynna and Cody sitting at the kitchen table with a bucket of crayons and a couple coloring books.

"Brynna, hi. I thought you'd be at the bureau," Sam greeted, looking at her questioningly.

"Where have you been?" asked Brynna, budding anger seeping through her voice. "I woke up and you weren't here!"

"I was kidnapped by Jen and Darrell and the Ely boys."

"You couldn't left me a note or called or something!"

"I don't have a cell phone," Sam tried to reason. Brynna wasn't hearing it.

"Well you should! You can't tell me you lived in San Francisco and didn't have a cell phone!"

"I never needed it, I had no one's number to put in it."

"Well we're going to have to get you one. You can't just run off at all hours, Sam."

"I wasn't running off at all hours; it's the middle of the day I went and got lunch with my friends. It isn't like you needed me here," Sam said disbelievingly.

"Sam, if we're going to make this work, we're going to have to set some boundaries," said Brynna. Sam's gaped at her.

"What do you mean if we're going to make this work? You know, this was my home long before it was yours! I've been gone one fricking year, Brynna. This is my home! This isn't something that we just have to 'try' to make work! I'm eighteen years old! I'm not a child, you can't tell me what to do anymore!" Sam exploded.

"You do not talk to me like that! I am the adult here!"

"You're not my mother! You will never be my mother! You can't tell me what to do!" Sam yelled. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Brynna looked at her with hurt eyes. Cody, who had stopped coloring, looked as if he were about to cry.

"Go to your room. You are so grounded," Brynna ordered her, her voice low and hurt filled.

"Brynna…" Sam searched her eyes, trying to think of a way to apologize.

"Please, Sam, just go. And don't make any plans for tomorrow. You're going to be helping the Dallas, Pepper, Ross, and the Ely boys here on the ranch tomorrow."

"Yes ma'm," Sam replied. She felt horrible about what she said to Brynna. Sam was angry…but not even Brynna deserved that. For the rest of the night Sam could not get the hurt look in Brynna's eyes out of her head.

**-The Next Morning-**

Sam woke up before the sun did the next morning. It wasn't a surprise to her; she hadn't slept well in months. She got dressed and went down stairs and walked into the kitchen. As she opened the refrigerator she spotted a post-it note on the freezer.

_Sam-_

_Gone to work. Cody is at the sitter's (Maxine)_

_Help the boys around the ranch. There is a baked pasta in the fridge for lunch. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes._

_Brynna_

"Great, that's just…so fantastic. Really," Sam muttered as she shuffled out of the house. She saw Adam and Jake working a horse in the corral. Adam, who was sitting on the fence saw her first.

"Hey Sam!" he yelled, waving her over. "Hey, Brynna told us you would be gracing us with your presence today." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"You must have really pissed her off."

"Yeah, well…yeah. Where's Nate?"

"He's helping Dallas, Ross, and Pepper with the cattle." Sam nodded in understanding.

"Well, what do you guys need me to do?"

"Uhh," Adam said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right now? If you want to go ahead and just muck out the stalls that'd be great. Especially Ace's. That is one messy boy you've got yourself." Sam smiled at the thought of Ace.

"Aye aye captain." She saluted. Before turning around, she watched Jake work with a new horse. _Horrible with people, but when it comes to horses there is no one better than that boy_. She smiled and gave a small chuckle at the thought. There was no one she would trust more with a horse than Jake.

Sam was already walking towards the barn by the time Jake realized she was ever there to begin with. He watched her walking away for a moment before returning his attention back to the horse. Little did they know, Adam had watched the exchange between the two and was taking mental notes on what had just happened.

**-With Sam-**

Sam walked into the barn and immediately over to Ace's stall. He tossed his head in greeting. Sam went up and rubbed his sleek coat.

"Hey boy," she whispered lovingly. "You probably want to go out for a ride, don't you?" Sam sighed. "Oh, Ace…I wish we could just run away." Ace gave a neigh, almost as if agreeing with her. "But I really have to stop running. Whenever I run people get hurt. Besides, anywhere I run here, Jake'll just follow," she giggled. "That, or I would run to him."

Meanwhile, Jake decided he had worked enough with the horse for one day and decided to let it wander about the ring. He jogged over to where Adam was leaning against the fence.

"She's coming along great, ain't she?" he asked as enthusiastically as Jake could get. Adam nodded.

"You're doing great with her. If only you were as smooth with female humans as you are with your female horses."

"What?" Jake asked, shooting Adam a confused look.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't. Please enlighten me."

"Jake, you're antisocial, I know, but even you can't be that blind." Jake was getting annoyed now.

"What are you talking about, Adam?"

"I'm talking about you and Sam!"

"Me and Sam?" Jake stared, his eyes unreadable. "What about me and Sam?"

"Don't act dumb, Jake. As fitting as it is, it's annoying."

"It's not an act. What about me and Sam am I being blind about?" Adam sighed.

"Oh, little brother. You know, you're going to end up with Sam sooner or later, so you should just ask her out now."

"I'm going to…with Sam? You're insane. Sam and I are just friends."

"Sure, tell that to the lovesick look on your face when you see her."

"I do not have a lovesick look," Jake scoffed. Adam patted his back sympathetically.

"Sure you don't, Jake, sure you don't."

**[A/N] Okay, after this new chapters start. Well, this is kind of a new chapter because I combined it with the last one, but still. Let me know what you think! Any input/criticism is welcomed, just please keep it constructive. Anyone who posts on here has to understand that reviews that are mean and unhelpful are the opposite of a motivator for writing.**

_I'm gonna stay where the love is right  
I'm so tired of being a bird in flight  
Good love takes work  
Ah but that's alright  
That's alright_

Whenever I run  
Instead of running into the blue  
I follow my heart  
And there in your arms  
Is where I find the love I need  
And the best is yet to come  
You're the only one

_Whenever I Run by Keith Urban_


End file.
